Terms of Use for NCQA.org
Thank you for visiting our web site, NCQA.org (the "Web Site"). The Web Site is
sponsored by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (the "NCQA"), which is
a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to assessing and reporting the
quality of managed health care plans. Your use of our web site constitutes acceptance
of our terms of use as set forth in this agreement (the "Agreement"). If you disagree
with any of these terms, please exit this site immediately.
1. Description of Services.
The NCQA.org Web Site and our related services (collectively, the "Services") are
based upon data received from third parties and are provided to you and other users
(the "Users") as a public service. NCQA.org does not select health plans for Users,
nor does it endorse or recommend any particular health plan or provider. NCQA Accreditation
constitutes a review of a health plan's quality programs and systems to evaluate
its compliance with NCQA standards for performance in clinical and administrative
areas. NCQA Accreditation does not include the review of a health plan's financial
stability and the NCQA Accreditation decision does not include or imply any representation
as to the financial condition of a plan. Subject to this Agreement, NCQA grants
the user of this site a personal, nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use
and display the Content on any machine(s) of which you are the primary user. You
may make a hard copy of any report card for your own individual use but you may
not copy, electronically or otherwise transmit, redistribute, republish, modify,
adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, sublicense or otherwise
provide the Content to any third party. You may not use or include any Content in
any other print or electronic publication service or product or use the Content
for any commercial purpose.
2. Proprietary Rights and License.
(a) NCQA or its licensors own all text, visual, audio, or digital material or other
content of any kind on the Web Site (collectively, the "Content"), and all worldwide
rights, title and interest therein, including copyrights, the NCQA name and mark
and all other trademarks or service marks owned by NCQA (the "Marks"), patents,
patent registration rights, trade secrets, know-how, and database rights relating
to the Content, Web Site or Services.
(b) Subject to this Agreement, NCQA grants you a personal, nonexclusive and nontransferable
license to use and display the Content on any machine(s) of which you are the primary
user. You may download and reprint a single copy of the materials from the Web Site
for your own personal, noncommercial use only, provided you include all applicable
notices and disclaimers. Any other use of the materials is strictly prohibited without
prior written permission of the applicable rights holder(s). Except as provided
above, you may not copy, electronically or otherwise transmit, redistribute, republish,
modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, sublicense or
otherwise provide the Content to any third party. You may not use or include any
Content in any other print or electronic publication, service or product.
(c) You may not use, adopt or attempt to register anywhere in the world any Mark,
either alone or in combination with any other word or symbol, or any mark or name
which is similar or confusingly similar thereto. You shall not alter or remove any
trademark, copyright or other notice from any copies of the Content.
3. Acceptable Use.
NCQA.org is operated from offices within the United States of America in the District
of Columbia. Regardless of the location from which the Web Site is accessed, you
agree to comply with all applicable U.S. and other applicable laws in connection
with your use of the Web Site, Content and Services.
4. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE WEB SITE, SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE
PROVIDED STRICTLY ON AN "AS IS" AND ON AN "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED STATUTORY OR OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF TITLE, OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, EXCEPT FOR THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION,
OR MODIFICATION UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. NEITHER NCQA NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS,
OR SERVICE PROVIDERS WARRANTS THAT THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR WEB SITE WILL BE ACCURATE,
COMPLETE, UNINTERRUPTED, WITHOUT ERROR, OR FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS OR OTHER HARMFUL
COMPONENTS. AS A NEUTRAL VENUE THAT PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH CARE PLANS
BASED UPON DATA AND MATERIALS SUPPLIED BY THIRD PARTIES, NCQA MAKES NO WARRANTIES
OR REPRESENTATIONS AS TO THE ACCURACY, QUALITY, RELIABILITY, SUITABILITY, COMPLETENESS,
LEGALITY, TRUTHFULNESS, USEFULNESS, EFFECTIVENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF THE SERVICES,
WEB SITE OR CONTENT. USE OF THE WEB SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR
OWN RISK AND NCQA ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY THEREFOR. THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED ON OR PROVIDED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE OR LINKS TO THE WEB SITE IS INTENDED
FOR GENERAL CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING AND EDUCATION ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE
A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE.
5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
NEITHER NCQA NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL BE
LIABLE, TO THE MAXIMUM ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES,
CONTENT OR WEB SITE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, RELATING TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON,
USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR WEB SITE, OR ANY ERRORS OR DEFECTS
THEREIN OR ANY LOSSES, DAMAGES OR INJURIES RESULTING THEREFROM. NEITHER NCQA NOR
ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL BE LIABLE, UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ACCESSING, ALTERING, OR DESTROYING
CONTENT; OR DAMAGES FROM LOSS OF BUSINESS, PROFITS OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. IF
YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY ASPECT OF THE WEB SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT YOUR SOLE
AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE WEB SITE.
6. Indemnity.
You acknowledge that:
(a) all information provided by NCQA is based upon data and materials obtained from
third parties,
(b) NCQA does not endorse or act in a representative capacity for any third parties
and
(c) NCQA undertakes no responsibility or liability for or on behalf of such third
parties. To the maximum allowed by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify,
hold harmless, release, waive and discharge NCQA, including its officers, agents,
affiliates, employees, licensors and service providers, from any and all suits,
claims, proceedings, losses, liability, and expenses, including attorneys' fees,
whether in tort, contract or otherwise, which arise out of or relate to the Content,
Services or Web Site or your breach of any term in this Agreement.
7. User Violations.
(a) If you violate any terms herein, applicable law, the rights of any other party,
or any policy posted on the Web Site, NCQA may determine, in its sole discretion,
the appropriate response, including termination of your access to the Web Site.
(b) The Privacy Statement located on the Web Site, as modified by NCQA from time
to time, shall govern any disclosure or use of information provided by all Users.
See privacy policy below. As set forth in our Privacy Policy, NCQA generally does
not disclose any customer-specific information to third parties without the consent
of the User. However, NCQA will fully cooperate with law enforcement authorities
and legal proceedings, where NCQA deems, in its sole discretion, such cooperation
necessary to comply with applicable law, investigate violations of this Agreement
or to otherwise protect NCQA or any party's rights.
(c) Violations of this Agreement may be reported to Customersupport@ncqa.org, along
with the following information:
(i) the nature of the alleged violation, along with any supporting evidence;
(ii) the date and time of the alleged violation, including the time zone; and
(iii) the address used to commit the alleged violation.
8. Linking/Advertising.
You acknowledge that NCQA does not review sites or advertisements linked into or
out of the Web Site and such linking does not constitute an endorsement or sponsorship
thereof by NCQA. NCQA is not liable for any third party advertising, information,
goods, services, content or for transactions you may enter into as a result thereof,
off-site or stored pages, or old or expired links. You hereby waive any claim against
NCQA as a result of any of the foregoing to the maximum allowed by applicable law.
9. Choice of Law.
This Agreement shall for all purposes be governed, interpreted, construed and enforced
solely and exclusively in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia,
USA, without regard to conflicts of law provisions thereof. Any and all controversies
or claims arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall
be settled by one arbitrator under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association
under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. Any such arbitration shall be conducted
in the District of Columbia, USA. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding
and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court
having jurisdiction thereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement,
since you recognize that breach of this Agreement may cause NCQA irreparable injury,
NCQA, in addition to all other remedies, shall have the right to equitable or injunctive
relief anywhere, as it deems fit, in the event of any actual or attempted breach
of your obligations hereunder.
10. Modification of Agreement.
In order to remain flexible in its provision of the Services, NCQA reserves the
right to make changes to any agreement or policy posted on the Web Site at any time.
Notice of discontinuance or changes to any agreement or policy may be posted on
the Web Site, or sent via e-mail or postal mail. Continued use of the Web Site after
the posting of any changes or modifications to any agreement or policy shall constitute
agreement to be bound thereby. If you reject the modifications by clicking on the
"I Do Not Accept" button, your access to the Web Site shall be terminated.
11. Modification of Services.
NCQA may modify, suspend, discontinue, delete or restrict the use of any portion
of the Web Site at any time without notice or liability. NCQA shall not be liable
for any modification or discontinuance of the Web Site. NCQA may deny access to
the Web Site to any person at any time for any reason.
12. Term of Agreement.
This Agreement shall become effective immediately upon your use of the Web Site.
13. System Integrity.
You may not use any device or software to interfere or attempt to interfere with
the proper operation of the Web Site, Services or Content.
14. Severability and Survival.
If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid, all other provisions
shall remain in full force and effect. The provisions of this Agreement concerning
intellectual property rights, dispute resolution, governing law, warranties, limitations
of liability, indemnities, this Section 15 and any other provisions which contemplate
continuing effectiveness shall remain in effect after the termination or expiration
of this Agreement.
15. Headings.
The headings contained in this Agreement are not intended to be full and accurate
descriptions of the contents of this Agreement and shall not affect the meaning
or interpretation of this Agreement.
16. Failure to Enforce.
NCQA's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision identified herein or
posted on the Web Site shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision
unless agreed to in writing by NCQA.
17. Merger.
This Agreement constitutes the entire and final agreement between Users and NCQA
relating to this subject matter.
18. Privacy Statement
This privacy statement demonstrates NCQA's commitment to your right to privacy and
explains the privacy policy governing www.ncqa.org (the "Web Site"). If our privacy
policy changes, we will post an announcement on the Web Site.
Information Collection, Disclosure and Use: When you access the
Web Site, you are not required to register or otherwise provide any personal information.
As a result, we do not sell, lease, or otherwise provide personally identifiable
information to third parties because we do not collect such information.
We do collect limited aggregate information relevant to your use of the Web Site,
such as the number of visitors that use the Web Site, the server location from which
each visitor accesses the Web Site, and the number of pages each visitor views.
This information is not personally identifiable and is collected
using tracking software solely for internal purposes. It is never provided by sale,
lease or other arrangement to any third party.
Minors: We do not direct any of our content specifically at minors.
Privacy:This Web Site contains links to other web sites. We have
no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies or content of
such sites.
Contact/Redress: You may contact NCQA Customer Support
with any questions you have regarding this privacy policy or, alternatively, if
you suspect we have acted in a manner that does not comply with this policy.
19. Acceptance of Terms.
YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WEB SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT
OF THE WEB SITE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE PARTICIPATING
IN THE SERVICES. YOU CONFIRM YOUR AGREEMENT TO VOLUNTARILY USE THE SERVICES AND
ACCESS THE CONTENT SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT BY CLICKING
THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON BELOW.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS STATED ABOVE, PLEASE EXIT THIS SITE.